A most unusually themed 'pink' wherein, Ryoko Asagi puts in a great performance as she successfully convinces us that she covers for her father-in-law's long lost cow. There are wonderfully erotic sequences and some wry humour but essentially this is a movie centred around the increasing senility of the ageing small holding owner, whose son has died and his wife played by Ryoko, has hung on in there. There is some fine cinematography, illuminating the rural scenes but this is never seeming to end gloriously and indeed in the end there is much pathos and a real sense of loss and generosity of spirit. Mind you if you are looking for fleshy sex, there is plenty here, so don't be put of by the serious side. One more film that surely could only have been made in Japan.

If Grampa starts thinking you're a cow, what do you do? Well, if you're anything like, Noriko, you'll be a good cow, and wake up at 5 am every morning, strip naked, and wait patiently on all fours with the rest of the other cows for the senility stricken old man to yank on your nipples.

There was a time during the flick I was wondering if the old man was just a serious pervert, and he wasn't seeing a cow, but just saying those things to squeeze on his daughter-in law's boobies. As the story unfolds you see that his old age is indeed becoming a problem for him, and this is where the film opens your eyes to movie that's actually much deeper than previously thought. Combine it with some hot and heavy stuff and you got the makings of a very memorable pinku.

Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn was a good one. With surprisingly good sex scenes, solid direction, acting and cinematography, mixed with an intriguing story, I was kept pretty entertained. And it doesn't hurt that the film is only a tad over an hour long. Check it out if you're looking to watch something a bit more abnormal.

Dear mmushrm,

When you reviewed this film several years ago, you stated that you would like an explanation of the ending of the movie - here is the pertinent portion of your original comment:

"Thats it, thats the ending. He sells the farm after fighting against it the entire movie. He sells the farm, after he regains his sanity. He sells the farm and sends the daughter in-law off after professing his love. HUH??? what did I miss?? Thats it???? Anyone else who watched this please explain the ending to me..."

By selling his farm and moving into a retirement home, the old man was forcing his daughter-in-law to move on with her life (which she had been avoiding ever since her husband died). Essentially, the old farmer was making his daughter-in-law accept his very unselfish gift - he was setting Noriko free (figuratively, not literally). When I realized this, I found it to be quite moving and very beautiful.

What did I base my conclusions on? Notice that it was made clear that the old man would have personally much rather continued with the status quo (living with Noriko on his farm):

1) Earlier in the film, the old man (Shunichi) stated that he didn't want to sell his property to the obnoxious guy who was working for the developers because he would be bored if he didn't have his farm to go work on every day.

2) In the last scene of this film, Shunichi wryly mentions to Noriko that he was not looking forward to moving to the retirement home and having to live with a bunch of old people.

3) The biggest clue regarding Shunichi's true feelings is when he begins to cry softly after Nuriko leaves his home for the last time (when her taxi arrives).

Also notice that before she leaves, Nuriko acknowledges the sacrifice that Shunichi is making for her (long-term) benefit by telling him that he is cruel and then following that comment up immediately by telling him thank you. In the short run, this unusual couple could have continued to run the farm together more or less as they had been (except that, presumably, they would have begun living together as a romantic couple instead of as in-laws).

However, Shunichi understood that realistically there would have been no long-term future in pursuing that course of action for either of them. Shunichi, despite his moment of clarity when he realized that Nuriko was not Bessie AND also that he loved Nuriko, had already been showing signs of senility for about a year. Sadly, his dementia will almost certainly continue to worsen (at an ever increasing rate) - Shunichi probably only had another 5 years or so of quality life remaining. On the other hand, since Nuriko is only 29 at the end of the movie, she probably has a good 40-50 years still ahead of her. By making Nuriko leave the farm, Shunichi was making her take the first step toward finding a new man with whom she could enjoy the rest of her life.

Mmushrm, I hope that my comments have helped you to better understand and appreciate what I consider to be a truly wonderful little piece of cinema.

Sincerely,

pike100

I found this at a video sale. The title was so intriguing and poetic I threw it in with my buys. The title (the addition of lonely probably an English invention) makes it all the more powerful, a haiku to balance the story. While the filmmaker probably got the money and the go-ahead to make a film based on the nudity and the sexual moments, he managed to surpass those elements to make a contemplative film about the sadness of life. Noriko, a young widow, just twenty-nine, fears facing the world again. She feels she is too old, perhaps the milk-less old cow of the story. It is obvious to all but herself that she is still vibrant. For a few years now she has hidden in the security of her father-in-law's farm. But he is aging and becoming senile. He panics at the loss of his beloved milk-cow Bessie. Afraid she will lose him and her haven from life, Noriko, each morning, makes believe she is Bessie so that the old man will continue to feel that all is right with his world. When his daughter, Noriko's sister-in-law, arrives to try to convince her father to sell the farm off to the developers, the game is broken and the world changes for Noriko and her father-in-law. And the truth about their shared horror is enhances with the revelation of just how Bessie died.

Daisuke Goto has managed to tell a powerful little tale while still managing the insert the required sexual elements. And he's had fun with them. The old local vet keeps a pretty assistant who he ravishes when he needs to. This is played out to a hysterical accompaniment of squealing pigs, requests to compare his manhood to that of a horse, and a nurse who plaintively bangs on the door talking about the pain the pigs are going through as their testicles swell outrageously. The other sexual encounters are between the farmer's daughter and the greedy land sales middleman. But even these manage to integrate into the story and reveal much about the lives of these rural people. The final sexual moment, that between Noriko and her father-in-law, is less about sex than human connection. It reminded me of Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart in that it was less about the act than about the emotional connection that needed to be made.

I was not expecting such a deeply felt or artfully crafted film. It was a pleasant surprise. I didn't think this was what a "pink film" would be and may cautiously try another. But I do recommend the poetic "A Lonely Cow Weeps At Dawn" to the adventurous art film lover seeking a brief look into the human soul, Japanese style.

Maybe Im too thick but i don't get this movie. If there are hidden meanings and insights then I completely mossed them A Lonely Cow weeps at Dawn can best be described as an art or serious pinku movie. No one in this movie can be considered HOT but they are probably a more realistic representation of normal peoaple ie not everyone looks like a hot model.

There are afew sex scenes, most with older guys and younger women. But the story is basically about an old man who went senile after the son died. The son died while trying to sell the prized cow, Bessie, against the old man's wishes. After the death the old man still believed Bessie is alive. The daughter in law upholds the believe by acting like Bessie and letting the old man milk her every morning.

Sub plot is a developer buying up land and the agent is a sleazy fellow villager. Guy is basically a sleazy rapist. As a result of his actions, old man get hit in the head. The daughter in law nurses him and acts like a cow, in the midst of milking her he regains his sanity and they have sex professing their love for each other. Then he sells the farm and send her off.

Thats it, thats the ending. He sells the farm after fighting against it the entire movie. He sells the farm, after he regains his sanity. He sells the farm and sends the daughter in-law off after professing his love. HUH??? what did I miss?? Thats it???? Anyone else who watched this please explain the ending to me...

Based on the ending I say give this a miss. Don't really see whats so great about this.

A LONELY COW WEEPS AT DAWN is one of the notorious 'pink' exploitation films made in Japan. I should note at the outset that I watched the version on Amazon Prime, shorn of all the sexual moments, but nonetheless I was surprised by what I watched: this is a 'proper' film with a real story and some surprisingly moving moments thanks to the strong levels of characterisation.

The film's exploitative premise is about an old senile farmer who enjoys pretending to milk his widowed daughter-in-law just like a cow. Of course there's exploitation present in the nude scenes as well as the sexual moments which occur later on in the production. However, the rest of the story is social drama and it works very well. The two main characters are lonely, one of them spiralling into madness and the other whose life is in limbo after her husband's death.

A LONELY COW WEEPS AT DAWN is low budget but effective in its depiction of rural life in Japan. The camera work is largely static but the performances are deeply realistic, and this film as a whole offers much more than just standard exploitation fare.

"A lonely cow weeps at dawn" tells the story of a young Japanese woman that lives together with her senile father-in-law, a farmer, after her husband died some time ago. Not only does she help him working the fields, she also develops feelings and uses his mental disease to get some kind of erotic love by pretending she was his cow.

First of all, it is important to consider this a serious movie. While at first the plot may sound like just another film that was merely created to legitimate female nudity, you will soon realize that a much more sinister topic is addressed. The viewer gets to know a variety of characters bound in very special circumstances. Thereby topics like senility or prohibited models of love and relationship gain an element of doubt and awareness.

The movie does have some problems. Some of the characters behave a bit over the top, maybe also due to mediocre acting at times. This is surely not a blockbuster movie, seen by technical effects or looks, neither is it artsy or brave enough to fit in the opposite scheme. Especially for the end I would have wished for a more consequent and unforeseen alternative. Yet it is a short watch and does address some very important issues, evolving around an interesting concept.

All in all if you are interested in some of the aspects mentioned above, I can't think of a reason to not give it a try.